John Isner plays Jarkko Nieminen in the third round of Winston-Salem this afternoon.
Isner battled past Israel’s Dudi Sela 7-6, 6-2 in the second round, firing down 17 aces along the way. It was a tight battle but he eventually broke Sela’s resistance in the second set.
"It wasn’t exactly pretty, but I didn’t think it was going to be," Isner said. "Going from tournament to tournament, everything’s always different. There are different conditions, and a different ball than the last three weeks which, believe it or not, is a huge difference. So everything was just a little different than what I’ve been used to lately and it took awhile to adjust."
This is almost a home event for Isner and he’s relishing the experience.
"It was nice to play in front of a home crowd. The goal is to get to the finals and play in front of a packed stadium. I hear the finals are sold out. It’s just nice to get through that one. The last thing I want to do is go to the US Open with a loss not playing well. That’s terrible, you know. I want to get some matches under my belt and I want to stay here at home as long as possible.”
Isner will expect another tough match against the experienced Nieminen but he will be buoyed by his two previous wins over the Finn.
